Composed 18-year-old flyhalf Finn Mackay excelled in the Queensland Reds' 59-14 victory over Japan's Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights in Toowoomba today.
Mackay threw the final pass for three tries and a pinpoint crossfield kick produced another in the Reds' runaway nine-try performance.
A big left boot in general play was also used to good effect by the St Laurence's College product.
Wingers Xavier Rubens and Heremaia Murray both scored hat-tricks to show how efficiently the Reds shifted the ball wide or ran clever short-ball plays for the roving finishers.
Only a few short weeks ago, Mackay was playing for the Australia Under-18s.
Today, we was lining up against a Wild Knights side with former Wallaby Marika Koroibete on the wing.
"Playing Premier Grade against men for Souths this year really helped my progression and confidence," Mackay said.
"You always want a positive involvement early. When I got that good pass away, the boys got around me and that accelerates the confidence."
The match was just seven minutes old when Mackay ripped a long cutout pass to Dre Pakeho on the left sideline for the opening try.
At the 16-minute mark, Murray ran a sharp inside angle off a Mackay short ball and scooted 25m to the tryline.
On 20 minutes, Mackay put a cross kick into the arms of Rubens for his first try.
The 19-0 jump wasn't just about the backs. Props Nick Bloomfield and George Blake stopped Koroibete in his tracks when he ran it back at full tilt in the opening minutes.
The same props, with hooker Theo Fourie, produced a big shunt at the opening scrum that earned a penalty.
Midway through the second half, the Reds set a scrum on attack. Mackay coolly used fullback Treyvon Pritchard as a decoy and fed the pass to Rubens behind him. Rubens sliced over.
Pritchard, just 18 and still at Anglican Church Grammar School in Year 12, was composed across the full 80-minutes. His footwork and shuffle step earned him extra metres and he just looked like he relished the chance.
Rubens' decisive play and sharpness have been a feature since he earned extra time during the Super Rugby AUS matches while Murray was a handful each time he got the ball.
"The young guys really brought an intensity to the week and it showed from the start of the game. Finn was very calm and in control," Murray said.
As the second half went on, there were chances for pathway players Tom Howard, Josh Takai, Will Ross and Angus Kelly to also hit the field plus Brothers halfback Graham Urquhart.
The Reds and Wild Knights will meet again at Ballymore Stadium next Saturday before an exciting Watch Party on the field where fans can enjoy the Wallabies vs Japan Test on the big screen.
The two-game tour to Queensland is a key pre-season building block for the wider squad of the Wild Knights who will field their top side at Ballymore.
QUEENSLAND REDS 59
Tries: Xavier Rubens 3, Heremaia Murray 3, James Martens 2, Dre Pakeho
Conversions: Finn Mackay 7
Def
SAITAMA PANASONIC WILD KNIGHTS 14
Half-time: Reds 31-0V
enue: Toowoomba Sports Ground
